DTTCM Chapter 29

Sheng Yuan blinked his eyes.

“Alright then. Go inside.”

Another gust of evening breeze blew by, bringing a chill that entered through the collar and blew all the way to the spine.

“I said I’ll buy it for you.”

His voice was extremely unpleasant, a hoarse tone that seemed to shout from the depths of his throat, but without any effect. The pitch was off, resembling a monstrous growl in the darkness of the night.

Sheng Yuan, who had originally intended to leave, turned his head.

Why was he still angry?

Yu Zuojin held tightly onto the half stick of candied hawthorn in his hand, crumpling the paper bag.

Once again, for no apparent reason, he repeated, “I’ll buy it for you.”

It could make a listener feel a discomfort in their throats.

Sheng Yuan sensed that something was off.

But Yu Zuojin’s expression was no different from usual.

Sheng Yuan approached and examined him, but his shoulder was suddenly gripped by a tremendous force, pulling him forward.

“I’ll buy it for you. Don’t accept his.”

Sheng Yuan winced in pain, not understanding why the other person had such determination, and removed his hand. “I understand, I won’t accept his. Go inside quickly. It’s windy here, and you might catch a cold.”

That sentence seemed like a comforting pill, finally bringing an end to Yu Zuojin’s persistence.

As the other person went back, Sheng Yuan turned and walked home.

In his peripheral vision, he noticed a luxurious car parked on the opposite side of the street. It was glossy black, a common sight in big cities, but its license plate had an interesting detail.

After the regional letters, there were five consecutive ones.

Inside the campus of No.1 Middle School, all the streetlights were on. Yu Zuojin held the candied hawthorn and headed towards Building A of the dormitory.

“Zuojin!”

A gentle and mature woman’s voice reached his ears, and Tang Jing, who was ahead, saw him and a hint of joy appeared on her previously worried face.

She wore a custom-made handmade dress, with a camel-colored wool coat draped over it, and carried a bag in her hand.

She had a stunning and graceful appearance, with well-maintained skin that showed little signs of maturity at her age.

Her elegance was undeniable, but upon seeing Yu Zuojin, she couldn’t contain her excitement. She ran towards him in her red-soled high heels, overflowing with joy.

“Mom just went to the dormitory. The dormitory teacher told me you hadn’t come back yet, and I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you this time.”

She looked at Yu Zuojin’s ears. “How have you been at school recently? Has anyone… bullied you?”

She asked cautiously.

Yu Zuojin stood opposite her, holding the candied hawthorn, neither approaching nor speaking.

Seeing that he didn’t want to answer, Tang Jing quickly changed the subject.

“Mom thought it was getting colder in early autumn, so she brought you some clothes. They’re all in the car. You’ve grown taller, and the clothes you took with you before probably don’t fit anymore. Mom picked out a lot for you. You’ll definitely like them when you see them.”

“Oh, your dad is here too. Let’s go together.”

“It’s a good opportunity for our family to have a proper talk and have a meal.”

Tang Jing reached out to pull him, but Yu Zuojin stepped back, avoiding her, and walked past her without acknowledging her presence.

Tang Jing couldn’t take it anymore, and her eyes welled up with tears. She had come several times over the past two years, but she hadn’t seen Yu Zuojin many times.

She grabbed Yu Zuojin.

“Zuojin, my good child, come home with Mom. Mom really misses you.”

Yu Zuojin shrugged her off without looking back.

“Zuojin, Mom knows you’re not like this. You’re a good child.”

“I’m not a good child!”

Yu Zuojin couldn’t bear it any longer and shouted in a twisted and eerie voice.

In the empty and deserted school campus, it could be heard clearly.

Tang Jing stumbled back in fear.

Yu Zuojin approached and shouted again, “I’m not a good child! No!!”

Their shoulders collided, and Tang Jing lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Yu Zuojin’s eyes trembled, then as if he came back to his senses, turned and ran away.

“Zuojin!” Tang Jing hurriedly got up and wanted to chase him, but she couldn’t catch up at all.

“Baobao.”

*Baobao means “baby”.

The call was swallowed by the evening breeze.

Tang Jing walked out of No.1 Middle School’s gate, and the driver opened the car door. Yu Fengren got out of the car and looked at the dirt on her coat, his brows furrowing deeply.

“What happened?”

He bent down without any pretense and brushed the dirt off Tang Jing. The driver beside him was so shocked that he lowered his head and dared not look.

Tang Jing pushed him away, not allowing him to fuss over these things, and sat in the car with an unpleasant expression. As soon as she got in the car, she couldn’t hold back anymore and cried.

Yu Fengren’s expression was also difficult to describe.

There was no need to think about it; Yu Zuojin didn’t want to see them.

In Yu Zuojin’s first year of high school, they divorced, and he ran away from home.

The two sat silently in the car, facing each other.

They hadn’t seen each other for some time, and the atmosphere was awkward.

Tang Jing sat in the car, tears streaming down her face, crying in distress.

“Enough, you’re grown up now. Why are you crying?”

“I feel terrible seeing our son like this! Don’t you feel bad?”

“What can we do? Should I hold a knife to his throat and force him to come back?”

“Why didn’t you take care back then?!”

“Did you take care of him back then?!”

They started arguing again.

It was always like this.

Yu Fengren remained silent with a stern face.

“Our Baobao turned out like this, and we’re both at fault.”

Yu Zuojin didn’t like it when others called him that; only Tang Jing still called him that privately.

Yu Fengren took a handkerchief from his suit pocket and handed it to her. “Wipe yourself. What’s the point of looking like this?”

———————-

Yu Zuojin returned to Room 408 and slammed the door shut. His clearly defined large hands went crazy, ripping off the external unit of his cochlear implant and throwing it on the ground, causing his ear to bleed.

The blood sank into the flesh and crevices of his nails.

Tang Jing called him “that” again.

He heard it.

His body trembled, every pore and drop of blood screaming.

“Baobao.”

“Baobao hahaha, your nickname is Baobao.”

“Baobao Yu~~~”

Hoarse and distorted sounds emerged from the dust-covered memories.

The voices of teenage boys in the period when their voices were changing, all distorted.

They were imitating him.

Baring their teeth and claws.

Imitating his voice, imitating his vocalization.

His head throbbed as if it would split, his eye sockets were bloodshot and crimson, his clenched fists trembled.

His tall figure hunched over, like a monstrous creature lurking in a cave.

“Zuojin, be good. As long as you stop causing trouble, Mom and Dad promise to spend time with you once their work is done.”

“Zuojin, Mom and Dad are getting a divorce.”

He didn’t have a home anymore.

No one wanted him.

Yu Zuojin looked at the half-string of candied haws in his hand.

It was something he couldn’t bear to finish, something he insisted on holding onto and bringing back embarrassingly.

Others didn’t care, but he clutched it like a dog, unwilling to let go.

Damn it.

Fuck!

Yu Zuojin threw the candied haws into the trash can and kicked it over.

The trash can flew up and hit the wall, leaving a large dent in its plastic side.

Zheng Zilu, who was returning from next door, was startled and he trembled.

“What’s wrong with him?”

Guo Gang shook his head. “I don’t know.”

No one dared to go and see.

Feeling feverish, itching with heat, Yu Zuojin overturned the shoe rack he had previously set up and smashed everything that was placed in plain sight onto the ground.

A continuous barrage of chaotic noises.

He went mad, smashing everything he could.

He looked at the bed where Shen Yuan had slept.

This person had intruded into his life without permission.

He was good to everyone, not just him!

It wasn’t meant for him alone.

Everyone was taking what was his! They were all taking what was his!

They were taking it away from him!

His eyes were bloodshot, and he wanted to throw all of Shen Yuan’s belongings outside and never see them again.

To make Shen Yuan disappear completely from Room 408.

But Yu Zuojin stood there for a long time, and in the end, he picked up the hat from the ground and walked out of the door.

On seeing a student trying to leave after curfew, the dormitory supervisor hurriedly came out of the duty room.

“Where are you going, young man?”

On recognizing who it was, the dormitory supervisor caught up and grabbed him. “Yu Zuojin, where are you going?”

The latter knocked him down and ran into the darkness.

The dormitory supervisor held his waist in pain as he got up.

There was nothing he could do with such a problematic student; he could only call other teachers.

The security guard naturally couldn’t stop him either, so Yu Zuojin walked out of No.1 Middle High School.

Without the external unit of his cochlear implant, his world was extremely quiet.

The late-night streets were deserted, with no sign of a single person.

He walked aimlessly, his eyes constantly scanning, like a hunting lion.

After walking through several streets and turning countless corners, he arrived near a bar.

There were people there.

Five or six drunken men surrounded two girls in the middle.

“It’s inconvenient, next time… next time we’ll exchange contact information.”

“No, why is it so difficult to get contact information?”

A man with a flushed-face shouted, and his companions surrounded the two girls.

Another girl blocked her friend behind her and forced a smile. “Big brother, it’s really inconvenient. My sister already has a boyfriend.”

“So what if she has a boyfriend? Having a boyfriend doesn’t mean they can’t break up.”

“Quickly give it, don’t disrespect yourself.”

The people around them voiced their displeasure.

The man grew impatient and directly grabbed the girl’s wrist. “Damn it, it’s so hard to get a phone number. What the fuck are you pretending for, you stinking bitch?”

Her gentle rejection wounded his fragile ego, and unable to save face, he became angry.

The girl screamed in fear and desperately tried to pull away, but he pushed her to the ground.

Her companion tried to help, but someone from behind grabbed her hair and yanked it hard, causing her to arch backward in pain and scream.

“Damn it, you’re disrespecting us. Let’s take them to a dark alley and show them who’s boss. Then we’ll…”

Mid-sentence, his shoulder was bumped, and the man almost stumbled.

Yu Zuojin walked past with his hat on, without stopping his stride.

The man cursed under his breath and stared angrily.

“Hey, you there, are you fucking blind?”

Yu Zuojin couldn’t hear, and the man’s companion stepped forward to block his way.

“So you can’t see the road, huh?”

“Who let you go?!”

Yu Zuojin raised his eyes, his crimson gaze fixed on the group, excitement flickering in the depths of his eyes, unable to be concealed.

“Brat, you’re not that old, who do you think you are?”

The man stepped forward, jabbing at his shoulder one after another.

“What’s the matter? Can’t speak up now? Weren’t you acting tough when you bumped into me just now?”

“Boss, those two bitches ran away!”

“Damn it, forget about them for now. Take this kid to the alley.”

Several people pressed Yu Zuojin into the nearby alley.

The man stood at the entrance of the alley, stretched his neck, lit a cigarette, and walked in.

“Quick, call the police! Hurry.”

The girl who had taken the opportunity to escape dialed the emergency number.

But the screams from the alley didn’t wait for time.

One after another, the cries were heartbreakingly chilling and shook the soul.

By the time the police arrived, there was only a bloody group of men in the alley, sprawled out in all directions.